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How can I improve the open rate of our email campaign?

Many factors impact the open rate of an email campaign.

Open rate is the result of dividing percentage of emails opened by the percentage of emails successfully delivered. Uncertain how your campaign compares? Here is one vendor's collection of average open rates by industry >>

There is more to the story, of course, and a clear understanding of open rate is important when it is used as a measure of success. Here is a great explanation of Open Rate >>

Looking for ways to improve a campaign's open rate? Although there are many factors impacting open rates that we cannot control, there are several that we can control.

Factors we cannot control include:

• Subscriber's inbox settings
• Subscriber email host's filter settings
• Subscriber's behavior

Factors that we can control include:

• Sender reputation
• Relevance
• Timing

Sender reputation has the greatest impact on whether or not your email gets delivered. Consequently, it also affects whether or not it gets opened. ISPs look at how often your emails are sent, how many are sent, how many bounce, how many are opened, and how many complaints are made against your sending domain name and IP address. This string of reputation data adjusts every time you send an email campaign, and attaches itself to every email you send going forward. If you develop a bad sender reputation your email is less likely to get delivered and thus less likely to get opened. Use email marketing best practices to avoid a negative sender reputation. Here is a great article about email marketing best practices >>

Relevance requires some amount of marketing research. Determine the behaviors and preferences of existing customers to assist in building a more targeted message. Create unique segments within your list of subscribers. Even if you send just two targeted versions of the same marketing message, the campaign will likely draw better results.

Timing is one factor that is a moving target. Best time to send this summer may shift this fall. Timing is directly related to relevance.  Timing is also a two-part equation: there is the time an email is sent, and then there is time the email is opened. Testing is key to timing, and resending is always an option. Here is a good article about the benefits of resending an email >>

If you are searching for ways to improve open rates for your email campaign, it may be time for a program audit - spend an hour with a pro from WinCommunications. Take-aways include an action plan for improvements. Click to learn more >>

What use is email tracking data?

Photo Credit: Largemouth Frog Productions

Mired in tracking data? It is not data that builds a business. It is real results.

So what makes an email campaign successful? Real results and measurement methods should be reviewed often within the cycle of a campaign.

Because pouring over numbers, it is entirely possible to get mired in data analytics, stuck so deep that real results are almost lost in the conversation. A small business owner struggles to keep priorities straight, and a poor interpretation of data can set that business in the wrong direction completely, or perhaps just waste everyone's time.

Email tracking data in its simplest form can be used to measure trends. Trial and error, testing, and reading data over time is a practical and worthy strategy. Set internal benchmarks, perhaps compare them to industry average benchmarks, and adjust variables accordingly.

Look at open rates - compare these to each other and see what variables are trending toward success. If open rates are higher at 4 PM than they are at 7 AM, stick with afternoons.

Consider the scenario where open rates are not the best measure of real results, and the more important statistic is click-through rates. A case may occur where afternoons result in better open rates, but mornings provide much higher click-through rates. In this case, stick with sending email campaigns in the morning.

Clicks are one thing, but do the clicks actually result in the final call-to-action? For many, this means either a purchase or a phone call. Your landing page can make or break real results. Compare email click-through rates with real results. If CTR goes up, but real results are unaffected, the landing page likely needs some work.

An email marketing strategy is as durable as the daily weather forecast. Review and revise often to maintain maximum real results.

Discuss your strategy with the email marketing experts at WinCommunications >>

Ask a Question - Can I Be Sure the Pictures Will Display?

Worried about how your email will render once it lands in the recipient's inbox?

You can subscribe to the most reputable email service provider out there, and it is still a 3rd party sender. In other words, they are not you.

Your email appears to be sent from [email protected]. However, with an online subscription service in use, be aware that your email is routed through servers outside your company's domain. In most cases, as long as you are following best practices in email marketing, this is not a problem.

We also know that on the receiving end, all email systems do not render emails the same. This is the most challenging element of email marketing design. So plan for missing images and avoid complicated programming techniques.

IMAGES:
For example, some email systems ask users to approve images prior to displaying them, some do not. And in fact there are some systems, although far fewer, that are actually incapable of image display.

A few well-selected images can improve response when displayed properly in the inbox. Note, however, that too many images might not be a good idea. A recent study by Constant Contact revealed there may be an adverse effect related to more than 3 images in an email. There are plenty of studies and lots of data on how images affect email response.

Your email should be programmed with "alt" tags for those who do not see images. This means that if an image does not show up, there are words available to display as substitute.

FILTERING:
Email systems have predefined filters that dictate whether or not an image is displayed. Filters also determine whether or not a link is active. There may be cases where a recipient opens the email but cannot click the links. This is often the result of a recipient-side setting that disallows active links from 3rd party senders. One way to manage links would be to include the actual URL typed out on the page so the recipient can copy/paste into a web browser.

We are never sure of anything on the web or in email. So the best strategy is to incorporate email marketing best practices to reduce the chance for variation and increase the odds of success. And hire help if you need it! WinCommunications.com.

Ask a Question - How can we improve email response?

Begin by looking at barriers to success. 

1. One common barrier: Missing Call-to-Action. If the "ask" is hard to find, so is success. If your email is too full of information, the reader is overwhelmed. Remember, an average of 3 seconds is what you have to convey your message in an email. 
2. A second barrier: Complicated. Make sure the process from click to web site through purchase of product is as simple as possible. And TEST the process before sending the email!
3. A third possible barrier: Relevance. Know what's relevant to your audience. Stick to the message with the most meaning. 

More effective email messages focus on reactions. Take a few minutes to write down reasons that your product or service is significant to your audience. Then create a message directed more at the reason than at the product.

Ask A Question - Why The Low Open Rate?

• What does "opened" mean in email tracking?     
  The system for tracking opens is called "pixel tracking" - where a tiny 1x1 pixel blank image must appear on the reader;s screen in order for the "open" to be recoreded. So, what this means is that if viewers are receiving and opening their email in a no-image context, either on their phone or in their inbox with the images turned off, we will not be recording that as opened. More and more email clients read emails without pictures turned on, so unless the images are truly key to the message, they may never be viewed. Email open rates are best used as a measure over time, compare rates of fall emails vs spring emails, etc.
• What do industry experts suggest for a better tracking system?   
  Methods to get more "opens" actually recorded include: 1) Add motivators for viewers to open their images; 2) Add must-click links within the email, because a clicked link also triggers an "open" to be recorded; 3) Put of-interest data in a picture format within the email; include a "More Details Click Here >>" link to a flier or registration form. 
• What if our list of subscribers has too many uninterested people?     
  Email marketing is a trial-and-error system and over time, our list of active and interested subscribers will organically shrink due to bounced and unaccessed email addresses and unsubscribes.  So as the list of active/interested subscribers shrinks in total number, the percentage of opens will go up.  
• What can we do to make our emails more relevant and enticing so people will open and read them?     
  THIS is the most written-about topic in the discipline of email marketing!  Some factors to consider include: 1) The FROM line - this is the #1 factor determining if a reader will open an email.  So do your subscribers know who [email protected] is?  Do they trust this email?  2) The SUBJECT line - this is the #2 factor.  So what is it about the subject line that could be more preventing people from opening the email?  Maybe it needs to be more specific, more tied to the timing of the email or specific to an issue. 3) Is email the right way to reach your     target audience?  Ultimately, a good effort of 6 email attempts, measured over time to compare the open rates, will tell you if you are on the right track.  Ask around, send an email asking for      feedback or actually ask,"Click if you read this and want to continue receiving our emails." 

Ask a Question...

If you have been working with email marketing and have a question, or if you are considering adding email to your marketing strategy, use the comment feature below to ask a question! 

It's free, it's my advice based on my own experiences in email marketing, sales and management for 22 years now! 

Go ahead, ask...

If you have been working with email marketing and have a question, or if you are considering adding email to your marketing strategy, use the comment feature below to ask a question! 

It's free, it's my advice based on my own experiences in email marketing, sales and management for 22 years now! 

Go ahead, ask...

Ask a Question...

If you have been working with email marketing and have a question, or if you are considering adding email to your marketing strategy, use the comment feature below to ask a question! 

It's free, it's my advice based on my own experiences in email marketing, sales and management for 22 years now! 

Go ahead, ask...